Burnt to death or burnt

I was just watching CNN-IBN . Rajdeep Sardesai was hosting a show one the so called breaking news , about Kausar Bi being dead and the Gujrat Govt admitting it before the supreme court . Now while speaking , he repeatedly said that Kausar Bi was killed and burnt to death . This is just not a mere error in words , but an entirely new shade is being given to the happenings . Such careless use of words and blatant prejudice is not expected from a veteran journalist.

While the Indian media is the fourth pillar of Indian democracy , i feel it still has a long way to go .Right now we have more of quantity than quality , and sadly even a politician sneezing has come to be termed as breaking news . And moreover , i feel that there is a lack of continuity in the news coverage .

The Aussies Won

Hmmmm so finally the world cup is over and the Aussies have taken home the cup .... lots of money changing pockets today i guess :)

Some times things turn out the way we expect them to and sometimes they are unexepected ...either way its something unknown .

Life is going on good .... Gone to the station to pick up Dad . They kept announcing till the last min that the train is coming on platform no. 4 and then they changed it to platform no 3 . a mad rush immediately ensued .... i wonder why the railway announcements in all Indian stations are so unclear ??? Is it a deliberate strategy of chaos ...i doubt that the word deliberate could be used for our Govt anyways ..... nothing is deliberate for them except personal profit . The ones who think differently are the misfits who suffer ......

Come out of it ...dont snap .....

Think of all the people who have touched your life , remember the good parts and let go of the bad parts , Keep trying to widen the net of people you know , force yourself to do what needs to be done and try your best not to think of those things which are beyond your control , don't make any decisions when you are emotional , try to calm yourself ..... the waves keep rising and falling ..sometimes life is as emotionally turbulent as that ...try to remember that once you get further from the shore the turbulence lessens ...so while its safe to hold on to the shore ( depression ) letting go and going further ...letting go of mental barriers will help in bringing calmness ........

Going Beyond Pessimism ---Why Try Anything

Sometimes i feel this thread of hopelessness running through everything . Whatever i do , there are so many things that i cannot change . It often seems that large parts of my life are beyond my control .

When i read sociology , the basic tenet is how the individual is shaped by social factors . We are who we are largely because of our sociological context . Freud , in many ways , seems to support this view . Our childhood , our genes , our social and historical context .... every thing plays such an important role in shaping us .... how do we find out WHO WE ARE in this cocktail ????

But i digress from what i began with ...." Nothing gold can stay" said Robert Frost . Well i wonder what makes us move on , keep trying even when we know it wont make any difference ???? Being caught is the proverbial catch 22 situation .... cant leave it and live with it ..... Does it make any difference if i say the glass is half empty of half full ??? Im still looking at the glass .... either way i dont stop looking at the glass .....

Im pessimistic about so many things , but i dont stop doing it .
Rene Daumal, in Mount Analog, writes:

You cannot stay on the summit forever;
you have to come down again.
So why bother in the first place?
Just this: What is above knows what is below
but what is below does not know what is above.
One climbs, one sees, one descends;
one sees no longer, but one has seen.

One sees but dosent one want to see again and again ..that one glimpse makes one thirst for more ....... It just goes on and on .... why ????

When Time Is Not On Your Side - A Look At Old Age Homes

When The candle is almost at an end and the flame is flickering isn't the need for the sheltering hands even more urgent ?????

Old age is such a tough disease to fight . How does one live when the body gives up and the mind starts showing the strain ?

A HelpAge India estimate says the number of elderly people in India, pegged at 70 million now, is likely to go up to 117 million by 2025. It’s only natural that most of the existing old age homes will prove inadequate by then.

When i look at my grandparents generation , i see all of them living the same script . A generation that is used to hard work and independent living , many of them staying alone , with Children abroad or in Metros . Even the daily chores become a struggle .... Arthritis , Back ache , Diabetes ..... all enemies to be fought against .

Today , one of my friend's grandmother told me ...i wish there was an old age home where i could stay with my husband . A doctor would come for weekly visits , there would be other people of our age to talk to , and every one would be free to do what they want be it praying or watching K - Serials . What she yearned for was a little less responsibility , so that she could age in peace .

Finding domestic help , Nurses to stay and help those who are bed ridden or seriously ill is really tough these days . An NGO in Bhubaneswar called Shurusha trains young girls in basic nursing and care taking of the aged . And then the families in need can contact this organisation to get the required help . However the demand outstrips the supply . And the job being such a tough one , its difficult to find people who will stick to it .

We Indians always equate old age homes with irresponsible and cruel children who have abandoned their parents . But today i felt that for many people it would be a rather practical solution , especially if parents don't want to leave their home town and go to an entirely alien place .

But practically , i feel it is a feasible solution to a problem that is just increasing in magnitude . With changing social situation one needs to change oneself , and i feel that establishment of more old age homes , retirement colonies and other such facilities is imperative .

Some Random Facts

The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

The ‘v’ in the name of a court case does not stand for ‘versus’, but for ‘and’ (in civil proceedings) or ‘against’ (in criminal proceedings).

When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Every day 200 million couples make love, 400,000 babies are born, and 140,000 people die.

The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

Surprise

There is nothing more delicious than something unexpected (but desired ) .... Like finding money in old jeans ka pocket . Like taking a long journey to surprise someone . Like a gift on a normal day .

Like a phone call at 4 in the night .

A break in the routine is always welcome :)

Virginia Shootout

Today i was trying to imagine anything violent at my Christ College campus ...even a fist fight would seem incongruous . When i saw the news today , it just seemed so sad to me ...... what could propel a student with a good future to do something like this ????

Yes on one side is the Gun laws ...which make it very easy for a person above 18 to obtain a gun , in USA . Certain facts i looked up now on the net were shocking for me .

In the Bill of Rights, the second amendment to the Constitution reads:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Most people do not need any license to keep guns , provided they are in concealment . All you need to do is go to a registered Gun dealer , be abou\ve 18 years without a criminal record and you can buy a gun .

The guns rights group argue that right to keep guns reduces crime as it acts as a preventive . The gun control group retorts that it leads to greater accidental deaths and Shootouts .

What scares me is that even the safest of places , a university , is not safe anymore . And the enemy is no longer without ..its within .

And the rate at which India emulates USA 'popular culture' we could soon be at the threshold of such violence ......

Sea Scapes

A Fathers Silent Love

Summer nights are long and humid . It is impossible to sleep without the windows open and the fans whirling at full speed . Yesterday night there was a sudden summer storm .Power cuts follow in wake of summer storms , one of the constants of life in India . It was long past twelve , and he knew his daughter would be asleep . She was home for her holidays , and would be gone in a few weeks .
As was his practise he went to her room to check up on her . Silently, he closed the windows . She slept with the lights on . He knew darkness scared her sometimes . He brought a candle , lit it and placed it on her table , in case she woke up .

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I was watching " Monsoon Wedding " yesterday . There was a scene where Naseruddin Shah looks at his children , then turns to his wife , and says " Sometimes i feel a love so strong for them that i almost cant bear it "

I am sure all of us have felt that deep love for some people , thats so pure , that it scares us .

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Those Winter Sundays
by Robert Hayden

Sundays too my father got up early
and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold,
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather made
banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him.

I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking.
When the rooms were warm, he'd call,
and slowly I would rise and dress,
fearing the chronic angers of that house,

speaking indifferently to him,
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

The View From My Room

Emile Durkhiem on Schools

Here is what he has to say about education ......

In complex industrial societies , the school serves a function which cannot be provided by either the family of the peer group. Membership of the family is based on the kinship ties , and membership of the peer group on personal choice. Membership of the society as a whole is based on neither of these principles . Individuals must learn to co operate with those who are neither their kin nor their friends . The school provides a context where these skills can be acquired .

Very true i feel .

Liquid Copper - A Funky Cocktail

Mix one peg of Rum with Appy fizz and marinate a few black raisins in it for ten mins . The drink is absolutely Yumm .....

Just Because You Are Vegetarian Dont Think The Bull Wont Attack You

We always ask the question --why me ? What did i do to deserve this .... and most of the times we know the answer .I have been sniffling all morning and there is a litter of used tissue around me .....why ? ......Because i left the fan on at full speed last night ! !

Some times causal relations become so complicated that the interconnections are hard to make out . Think of the Political situation at middle east . And watch the movie Syrianna . Or think Of a murder mystery with multiple suspects each having a motive . Its difficult to make out how much flavour each spice gives to the mutton curry ...but one knows that each lends its unique taste to the meat .

Black and white are not the only two colours . There are a multiplicity of shades .

So when it comes to a fight ...and i ask myself ...why did that person harm me when i did nothing at all .... is my passivity a causal link too ????

It confuses the mind .

It seems in todays world minding ones own business can also become a crime . Not being aggressive can lead to one being the recepient of aggression .......